Social Theorists
Bronislaw Malinowski
bro-NIS-wahf mah-lee-NOFF-skee (Polish)
Also Known As Bronislaw Kasper Malinowski (full birth name)
Anthropology
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
The Polish born anthropologist who pioneered participant observation as an ethnographic method, living for an extended fieldwork stay among the Trobriand Islanders and developing detailed techniques for gathering ethnographic data from within a community rather than at a distance.
Facts
Birth DateSourced to the subject's own account Birth YearSourced to the subject's own account Death DateSourced to the subject's own account Death YearSourced to the subject's own account BirthplaceSourced to the subject's own accountKrakow, Austrian Partition of Poland 2 Death PlaceSourced to the subject's own accountNew Haven, Connecticut, United States 1 Nationality / CultureSourced to the subject's own account Defining ContributionSourced to the subject's own accountPioneered participant observation and long-term ethnographic fieldwork, a founding figure of social anthropology. 1 Notable WorkSourced to the subject's own accountArgonauts of the Western Pacific (1922) 1 Notable WorkSourced to the subject's own accountCoral Gardens and Their Magic (1935) 1 Notable WorkSourced to the subject's own accountCrime and Custom in Savage Society (1926) 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Institutions Informed
Studied under Malinowski at the London School of Economics before his own Azande fieldwork.
Practices Studied
Theories Developed
Malinowski's anthropological 'functionalism' (institutions meet individual needs) is a related but distinct branch from Durkheim's sociological version (institutions meet system needs); both are documented as co-developers of the broader functionalist family.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Bronislaw Malinowski
WikipediaLead sectionQuote, Lead section
Bronislaw Kasper Malinowski (7 April 1884 - 16 May 1942) was a Polish anthropologist and ethnologist whose writings on ethnography, social theory, and field research have exerted a lasting influence on the discipline of anthropology.
1. Wikipedia: Bronislaw Malinowski
WikipediaDeath sectionQuote, Death section
Malinowski died in New Haven, Connecticut on 16 May 1942, aged 58, of a stroke
2. Social Sci LibreTexts, Traditional Ethnographic Approaches
LibreTexts (HACC Central Pennsylvania's Community College)4.3 Traditional Ethnographic Approaches, Off the VerandaQuote, 4.3 Traditional Ethnographic Approaches, Off the Veranda
he not only observed the Kula Ring but also participated in it.
Wikipedia: Structural Functionalism
WikipediaTheories Developed: Structural Functionalism, anthropological functionalism discussionView the Source Wikipedia: Kula Ring
WikipediaPractices Studied: The Kula Ring, opening section, citing Argonauts of the Western Pacific (1922)View the Source Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.